Wind damages Camp Nathanael in Knott County

Fallen trees and downed power lines were scattered across a Eastern Kentucky church camp after Thursday's storms.

Officials at Camp Nathanael in Knott County just celebrated the camp's 80th anniversary, but that didn't stop Mother Nature from delivering an untimely surprise.

National Weather Service officials say up to one hundred mile per hour winds hit that part of the area.

The storms toppled trees into cabins that were occupied by campers just hours earlier.

"We only had three or four folks on the property when the storm hit and so it could have been much worse. It could have been human injury or even death because of where the trees fell." Camp director Roy Hodson said.

Dozens of trees were knocked down and camp landmarks, like this walking bridge, were nearly ripped apart.

More than 75 volunteers, including churchgoers, government workers and even inmates, are chipping in on the cleanup effort.

"Camp Nathanael is a very special place to a whole lot of people in Eastern kentucky and it has a special place in our heart and we want to get it back up and running before the children come this weekend." Knott County Judge Executive Randy Thompson told Mountain News.

Officials estimate the damage to the cabins alone to be somewhere in the $70,000 range.

They're optimistic that things will be pretty much back to normal by the time a new round of campers arrive here on Sunday.

Officials believe it will be weeks before all of the downed trees and brush are completely cleared out.

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